West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-09-16

| ter weighs in their favor In o2e
scale, and these, not being against
the laws of nature, do not weigh
against them. But those facts in
the Bible which contradict the laws
of nature must be examined with
more care and under variety OF
phases. Here you must recur to
pretensions of the writer TO inspira
ton from GOD. Examine under
what evidence his pretensions are
founded, and whether that evidence
is so strong that its falsehood would
be more improbable than a change
Of the laws of nature in the case he
relates. For example, in the book
of Joshua we are told the sun stood
still several hours. Were we to read
that fact in Livy or Tacitus we
should class it with their showers
of blood, speaking statues, beasts,
etc. But it is said that the writer
of that book was inspired. Exam
inc, therefore, candidly, what evil
dence there is of his having been in
spired. The pretension is entitled
to your inquiry because millions
believe it. On the other hand, you
are astronomer enough to know how
contrary it is to the law of nature
that body revolving on its axis, as
the earth does, should have stopped,
should not, by that sudden stOppage,
have Frustrated animals, trees, build
inc, and should, after a certain time,
have resumed it's revolution, and
that without a second general pros
tration. Is this arrest Of the earth S
motion; or the evidence which af-
firms it, most within the law o.
probabilities?
You will next read the New Tcs-
lament. 1t is the history Of per-
sonage called Jesus. Keep your eye
on the opposite pretensions, first, of
those who say he was begotten of
God, born of virgin, suspended
and reversed the laws of nature at
will, and ascended bodily into heav-
en-; and, second, Of those who say
he was man of illegitimate birth,
of benevolent heart, enthusiastic
mind. who set out with pretensions
to divinity, ended in believing them,
and was punished capitally for Sc
dition by being gibbeted according
to the Roman law, which punished
the first commission of that otiense
by whipping and the second by eX-
| lie or death in funca. See this law
in the digest, Lib. As, Tit. 10, Sec.
2S, 3, and Lipsius, Lib. ,. De
Cruce, Cap. 0. These questions are
examined in the book | had men
toned under the head Of religion
and several others. They will as
sist you in your inquiries; but keep
your reason firmly on the watch in
reading them all. Do not be fright
ened from this inquiry by any fear
of its consequences. If it ends in
the belief that there is no God you
will find incitement to virtue in the
comfort and pleasantness you feel in
it's exercise, and the love of others
which it will procure you. If you
| find reason to believe there is a God,
a consciousness that you are acting
under His eye, and that He APP
proves you will be vast additional
Indictment; there he a future state,
the hope of happy existence in
that increases the appetite to de
serve it; if that Jesus was also q
God you will be cOmforted by
belief Of His aid and love. In fine,
l repeat, you must lay aside all pre-
iudice on both sides, and neither
believe nor reject anything, because
any other person or description of
persons have rejected or believed it.
Your own reason is the only oracle
given by heaven, and you are an
swerable, not for the rightness, but
for the uprightness of the decision.
| forgot To observe, when speaking
of the New Testament, that you
should read all the histories of
Christ rs well as those whom II
council of ecclesiastics have decided
for us to be pseudo evangelists as
those they named evangelist, be-
cause these pseudO-evangelists pre-
tend to inspiration as much rs the
others, and you are to Judge of their
pretensions by your own reason, and
not by the reason of those ecclesias-
tics. Most Of these are lost. There
are some, however, still eXtant, cot
lected by Fabricius, which | will
endeavor to get and send you.
"Fifth-Travelng. This makes
men wiser, but less happy. When
men of sober age travel they gather
knowledge which they may apply
usefully for their country, but they
are, after all, subject to recollec
tions mixed with regret; their af-
fections are weakened by being eX-
tended over more objects, and they
learn new habits which cannot be
gratified when they return home.
Young men who travel are exposed
to all these inconvenience in
higher degree to others more serious
and do not acquire that wisdom for
which a previous foundation is re-
quisite by repeated and just obser